Pokemon: A Unova Story
by Zorana123
Summary: Hi, I'm Savannah, the newest Pokemon Trainer in Unova. I'm finally about to embark on a fantastical journey around the beautiful Unova region with my best friends Cheren and Bianca. The question is, do I have what it takes to be the very best, or to save Unova from Team Plasma? Eh, probably not. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1: Dawn of a New Adventure

Every child dreams of having their very own Pokemon. I mean, who could blame them? Who wouldn't want a weird monster at their side obeying their commands while beating the crap out of other weird monsters? That actually sounds terrible when I put it that way, but there's probably something more to that. If there wasn't, I don't think parents would send their children to travel across an entire region to become a Pokemon Trainer, and at the age of ten no less. It's a common thing for children to depart from their homes on their tenth birthday. Growing up, it was all anyone my age ever talked about. Just the thought of such an enthralling experience made every kid squeal with excitement.

Well, every kid... except for me. I was pretty much the only one in my hometown who didn't want to be a Trainer. I never felt compelled to follow in my parents' footsteps to journey across the Unova region with Pokemon. I was a pretty weak kid, and I had an irrational fear of Pokemon. My parents wanted me to go on a journey ever since I was born. When I finally came of age, however, they insisted that I don't. They even started to blame themselves for coddling me for so long so that I would stop freaking out whenever I saw a Patrat. My two friends Cheren and Bianca also had plans to go on a journey, but since they were the only friends I had, they figured I'd be lonely without them and changed their minds. I started feeling somewhat guilty, but my parents reassured me that it wasn't a big deal.

I especially felt bad for my dad after that. He's told me before that he was an avid Trainer in his youth. Both of my parents were, but my dad was said to be the real deal. He won nearly every single battle he fought in, and never turned down a challenge from even the toughest Trainers. At least, that's what I've heard, cause I've never actually seen him participate in battles, even when he would often leave to partake in them. While I was young, the only thing I noticed from my dad was his fascination with Pokemon training, and the excitement he felt knowing that I would one day be a Trainer like him. When my parents decided not to make me leave on a journey, my dad was willing to give up part of his profession to spend more time with me now that he saw that Pokemon battling wasn't really my scene. I quite enjoyed that extra time with my dad, especially considering that half of his time spent was away from home battling other Trainers, and that I barely knew anything about him other than his hobby. At times, I started suspecting that he wanted to quit Pokemon battling entirely. Part of me was saddened by this, seeing how happy he seemed when talking about it, but I knew he was perfectly fine with this decision.

After a while, my dad started to leave home a little more often. Not to battle with people, but just to travel with friends, likely to reminisce about the good old days of their battling career. Seeing him at such a somber, but also joyous time of his life was one of the many conundrums that I had pondered over in my life. How could he be so happy when he basically gave up his life's work of Pokemon training, and why does he also look so sad half the time? My mom noticed my confusion about this mess and told me it was likely just a mid-life crisis that my dad was going through, and that I shouldn't worry about it and act like a normal kid for once. I concurred that it may have been too complicated for a twelve year old to understand, and went about my usual business of playing video games and whatnot.

A few years passed, and during that time, for some reason I can't explain, something began to change within me. I got over my Poke-phobia, as my mom called it, and started watching some random exhibition battles on TV. My subconscious kept telling me that I wanted to be a part of the action. I ignored it for a while, but the more I watched them, the more I wanted my own Pokemon.

Meanwhile, my parents started noticing that something was off about me, but they didn't seem to care. They probably thought it was some random hobby I picked up because I got bored. But then, a few days ago, while my dad was away, I finally gave in and told my mom I wanted to go on a journey. At first she laughed and thought I was joking, and it took me like five minutes to convince her otherwise. After it hit her that I was being serious, she looked happier than she had ever been in her life and nearly burst into tears.

So for the past few days, Cheren Bianca and I have been preparing ourselves for the journey to come. Professor Juniper has promised to give us each a Pokemon that would be our partner.

Finally, the day when I would depart for my journey had come. I was sleeping soundly in my bed, even with Pidoves cooing outside my window. I started to become half awake but lacked the energy to get out of my bed.

Suddenly, something started poking my face. I flailed around blindly until I opened my eyes to see a Pidove in front of me.

"Pidove?! How did you get in my room?!"

I proceeded to chase it out of my window and shut it tight. I usually leave it open to let the breeze in, but this particular Pidove always flies in when I do. I tell myself to stop leaving it open, but it's a bad habit that I can't break for some reason.

I came to a realization when I recollected myself. "Wait, what time is it?" I looked on the digital clock on my nightstand and saw that it was 10:45.

"Oh crap, I overslept!"

I jumped out of my bed and rushed to dress myself and get my stuff together. I slipped on a dark red t-shirt and blue jeans, and grabbed my brush to fix my hair a little bit. I heard the doorbell ring and my pet Lillipup barking loudly, and became so startled to the point where I almost tore out some of my hair with my brush. Cursing under my breath, I just gave up on my hair and ran downstairs to answer the door, nearly tripping over myself in the process.

When I got downstairs, Lillipup was whining and scratching wildly at the door. I had to get him away so I wouldn't accidentally hit him, but he wouldn't budge. I grabbed him quickly and opened the door to see Cheren standing rather impatiently. His face was turned away, but when he looked at me, he flinched and widened his eyes.

"Hey, Cheren, how are you doing this fine morning?" My voice cracked. I had to force myself to sound all happy and excited. Needless to say, he looked pretty weirded out to see me barely dressed with messy hair and holding a squirming Lillipup with one arm.

"Um... are you okay? You look like you had a rough morning," he said after staring for a few moments.

"Oh, you know, sleeping in and a damn Pidove pecking my face, as usual," I stammered after wiping off my happy face. "How was your morning?"

Cheren chuckled. "Certainly not as bad as yours obviously was." I scoffed as a response.

You know that guy who always has a smartass comment for everything you say? Well that's the kind of friend Cheren is. To be fair, he is slightly more competent than me and Bianca, so I have to give him credit there. Out of the three of us, he's taken the whole Pokemon thing the most seriously. He seems like he just wants to be a strong Trainer, nothing more. It doesn't surprise me, he's always strived to outdo everyone in every category.

Upon hearing all the noise, my mom walked in. Lillipup jumped out of my arms and ran towards her. "Hello, Cheren. I'm surprised to see you're up, Savannah," she greeted. Cheren snickered at her remark. I groaned after just hearing her voice.

"Come on mom, I could barely get any sleep last night. Do you know how hard it is to sleep when you're this excited?" I replied.

"Well, I was up bright and early before I started my journey. As a Trainer, you're gonna have to get used to that," she said.

"What does being a Trainer have to do with being up early every morning?"

"The more daylight hours you're awake, the better you'll be at battling. That's one of the basic rules of being a Pokemon Trainer!" she told me.

 _Like hell it is,_ I thought as I rolled my eyes. "Did Professor Juniper come by yet?" I asked.

"As a matter of fact she did. She came and left this box here while you were still snoozing," she said as she pointed to a white box with a red ribbon on the counter.

"Sweet, so this box has those three Pokemon in it?" I beamed as I took the box.

"Yeah, Juniper says that kids usually start their journey with one of those Pokemon. Makes you wonder how professors always seem to find them." I was ignoring her at this point because I was so eager to see what Pokemon they were.

"We should wait until Bianca shows up to open it," I said to Cheren.

"Wait for Bianca? That's not gonna take forever at all," he said sarcastically.

My mom, like she has been for the last week or so, looked overjoyed. "Isn't this exciting? My fifteen year old daughter finally going on a journey with Pokemon. And here I was thinking it would never happen!"

"Well, you know, growing up and getting past your fears is a common thing among teenagers I guess," I chuckled.

"Come on Savannah, be happy for once! You're about to leave on a thrilling adventure instead of locking yourself in your room all day!" She probably didn't get that my attitude was mostly from nervousness instead of grumpiness.

Once again I had to force a smile on my face, lest I sit through another lecture about "being happy".

I turned to Cheren. "Let's go to my room while we wait for Bianca," I said. He simply nodded and we ran upstairs with Lillipup following us.

* * *

When we got there, the Pidove from earlier was still at my window flapping its wings vigorously, as if it were trying to get my attention so I'd let it in my room. Cheren laughed at the sight of the angry Pidove. "Does that thing never leave you alone?"

"Unfortunately no," I replied while I shooed the Pidove away.

For the next ten minutes, we were just talking about how excited we were about going on an adventure through Unova. Well, I was at least. Cheren just kinda sat there nodding to everything I said. It kinda seemed like he wasn't even paying attention.

Cheren interrupted me while I was rambling. "You know, it's kinda funny seeing you this happy about the whole adventure thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're the one who's been afraid of Pokemon your whole life, now you want to travel alongside them across an entire region. I'm kinda wondering how you came to be like this."

I hesitated before responding. "Well, it's just... I don't know. Ever since my dad starting spending more time with me, I've been going through some kind of phase where I really want to battle with Pokemon. I don't know how, but... it just kinda happened."

"That's strange. Maybe his presence triggered something within you. Deep down, you may have wanted to take his place, since he just kind of gave up for a while."

The thought of that made me smile a bit. Now that he mentioned it, it seemed pretty likely. I didn't know it at first, but I wanted to fill the void that my dad left and become one of the best Trainers out there.

My smile disappeared when another thought crossed my mind. I've been telling myself that Pokemon battling was my calling in life, and that I'll be just like my dad. But lately I've been thinking that might not be the case, and that I've been lying to myself this whole time. In truth, I don't really know how strong a Trainer can get, and that's what I fear the most. Just when I think I'm on the same level as some of the most well known and powerful Trainers out there, someone with higher skill could just come out of nowhere and ruin everything. Not that I'd ever reach that level anyway.

Cheren noticed my blank expression and spoke up. "Hey, you okay there?"

I quickly turned my head. "Uh, yeah, just kinda got lost in thought for a moment."

After I snapped out of my trance, I decided to lighten the mood. "Wanna play Smash Bros.?"

Cheren smirked and held up his fist. "Hell yes I do."

* * *

 **So, I attempted this kind of story about a year and a half ago. Twice, actually. But I never felt satisfied with either of them. So, now I'm doing it again. Maybe this time I'll actually make something worth reading. It'll be hard for me to find the time to write more chapters, but I think I can manage. Feel free to leave any constructive criticism here, so I can improve on upcoming chapters. Peace out, everyone.**

 **UPDATE: 6/3/16: Well, this is kind of weird. If you read this chapter before, you may notice that I decided to make it to where my dad isn't dead. Why did I leave out something that big? Well, I thought it would be more interesting if the dad played a bigger part of the story rather than simply being a catalyst for me going on a journey. Looking back, I feel like that little plot element felt rather forced. I know there's plenty of cases like that that have worked in other stories. Hell, just look at half of the Disney movies. But, again, I feel like it'd be cool to have the dad play an active role later on, as it would give kind of an interesting spin on the Black/White story. We won't see him until MUCH later on, though, so don't expect to see him immediately after the first Gym Leader or anything.**

 **Sorry if this confused new readers, just thought I'd give a heads up on those who read it beforehand.**


	2. Chapter 2: Our First Battle!

"Goddammit, you beat me again!" I shouted after Cheren's fifth victory in a row. I nearly threw my controller out of frustration while Cheren laughed. "Seriously, how are you so good at countering my attacks?"

"It's all about reading your opponents' movements and predicting their attacks. No offense, but you're not exactly the hardest opponent to read in the world," Cheren said.

I tried to say something to distract myself from my repeated losses. "Say, when do you think Bianca's getting here?"

"Good question. We've been playing for about half an hour, I didn't think she'd take THIS long."

Then suddenly, we heard loud and rapid footsteps coming from downstairs.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm-OOF!" Bianca had fallen face down at the top of the staircase, prompting me to laugh and Cheren to facepalm.

Remember when I said that Cheren was more competent and in control than me and Bianca? Well, I was mostly talking about Bianca. It seems like she can't go five minutes without tripping over something. At one point, Cheren and I suspected that she was going for a world record for the most face injures ever. That might come from the fact that she's extremely flighty and impatient, but she's still a hard worker. At least, more than me.

Bianca immediately got back up, almost as if nothing happened. "Are you guys excited or what?!" She said with a big smile on her face.

Cheren, completely ignoring her question, frowned at her. "What took you so long to get here, Bianca?"

"I am SO sorry, Cheren. I woke up late, and my dad was being stingy and wouldn't let me leave, and...it's just been rough, alright?" She pleaded.

"Hey, don't be so harsh, Cheren. At least we're all here now, right?" I said. Cheren shrugged. "I guess you're right."

"Has Professor Juniper given you the Pokemon yet? I can't wait to see them!" Bianca beamed.

"Oh right, I almost forgot," I said while turning to the box I left on my desk. I removed the small note that was tied to the ribbon and read it.

 _I've brought three Pokemon, one for each of your friends. Please settle your choices politely. Enjoy your Pokemon! -Professor Juniper_

"So, who wants to pick theirs first?" I asked them. None of them spoke up.

"Well, Savannah, this whole thing was your idea, right? I think you should get first pick," Bianca suggested.

"Naturally," Cheren agreed.

I took their offer and opened the box, revealing the three Pokeballs within it.

Rather than pick one out, I just stared. The sight of these Pokeballs left me with the same bittersweet feeling as before. The Pokeballs were a reminder that my adventure was now drawing ever closer. It was both exciting and terrifying, as I was gonna be leaving everything I knew to explore an unfamiliar world. And yet, my mind was flooded only with thoughts of the dangers I'd come across that left me in a frozen state. I was almost on the verge of changing my mind entirely.

"Hey, Savannah, don't keep us waiting now!" Cheren yelled. I snapped out of it and accepted my fate. I knew there was no turning back now. As scared as I was, I didn't want to disappoint my friends and mom by bailing at the last second.

I grabbed the Pokeballs from the box. "Alright then, come on out, you three!" I pressed the buttons and released the Pokemon that were inside.

The Pokemon consisted of a green, snake-like Pokemon with a smug look on its face, an orange pig that blew smoke out of its nostrils, and a white and blue otter with a sea shell on its torso. These Pokemon were Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott.

"Ohhh, they all look SO cute!" Bianca gushed. "Which one will you pick, Savannah?"

"Give me a second, I'm thinking." The three of them stood there awaiting my decision. I didn't exactly have any knowledge on their battle capabilities, so it wasn't an easy pick. I secretly feared that I would eventually regret whatever I decide on down the road.

Finally, I gave up and decided to just choose randomly. "I choose...Oshawott!"

The Oshawott, who had been avoiding eye contact, suddenly turned to me. It slowly made its way towards me and tilted its head. "Oshaa?"

"Hi there, Oshawott, I'm Savannah. I'm gonna be your partner!" I said after I kneed down to it.

The Oshawott furrowed its brows and sulked. "Osha..."

"Looks like you're just as nervous as I am.." I frowned while patting its head. It drew closer to me and nuzzled against me. I couldn't resist smiling at its affectionate gesture. "Don't worry, I think we'll be fine."

"Wow, good choice, Savannah!" Bianca said. "Hey Cheren, can I pick mine next?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Okay, I pick Tepig!"

The Tepig excitedly rushed towards Bianca, but slipped and fell on its stomach. Bianca giggled while the Tepig got up and jumped straight into her arms. "Well, we certainly have a lot in common. I can already tell we'll be the best of friends!" Bianca continued to laugh while the Tepig repeated its name over and over.

"I guess that leaves me with Snivy then," Cheren said.

The Snivy calmly walked over to Cheren and eyed him in a curious manner. "Nice to meet you, Snivy, I'm Cheren." The Snivy smiled at him and stood firmly by his side.

"Right, so everyone has a Pokemon now. What say we head over to Juniper's lab and get our Pokedexes?" I said to them.

"Good idea, Savannah, let's-"

"Wait guys, I have an idea!" Bianca interrupted. Everyone turned to her. "How about we have a battle right now?"

"Honestly, Bianca," Cheren began. "I know you're not the brightest person in the world, but even you should know that battling in a bedroom isn't a good idea."

"Oh come on, Cheren, these guys are so little! I doubt they'll cause THAT much harm, right?" Bianca pleaded.

"Eh, I'm with Bianca on this one. Plus, my room's always a mess anyway."

"Okay, if you're fine with it, I won't stop you," Cheren said.

Bianca glanced at me with her game face. "Let's both do our best, Savannah!"

"I'll try."

Bianca and I went to opposite sides of my room while Oshawott and Tepig got into their battle positions.

"Okay, Oshawott, let's make this first battle count!" I said to the Oshawott.

It felt pretty surreal to be saying those words. I never thought in a million years that I'd be partaking in a real battle, even with these puny Pokemon in my bedroom.

"You ready, Tepig? Let's give it all we've got!" The Tepig blew more smoke out of its nostrils and let out its battle cry. Both Pokemon stared each other down, awaiting our commands.

"Oshawott, use Water Gun!" I shouted. The Oshawott turned to me, confused. "Oshaa?"

"Oh come on, can't you shoot water from your mouth or something?"

"I don't think it knows that move yet, Savannah," Bianca pointed out.

"That's right. Last time I checked, your Pokemon can only use Tackle and Tail Whip starting out," Cheren said.

I raised an eyebrow, but I knew not to question it. "Okay then... Oshawott, use Tackle!"

The Oshawott rushed towards Tepig and slammed straight into him, pushing him back a bit. Bianca looked worried, but the Tepig got back up, growling and now blowing fire from his nostrils.

"Tepig, Tackle!"

Tepig did the same as Oshawott, only much more forceful, and knocking Oshawott against the wall and knocking down a painting.

"Holy crap, Oshawott, are you alright?!" Upon hearing me, the Oshawott slowly got back up on its feet, suddenly ready for more. I sighed out of relief knowing he wasn't seriously hurt.

"Alright, now use another Tackle!"

Oshawott once again slammed itself into the Tepig, even harder than before. This time the Tepig really seemed defeated, as he was unable to get up once he was struck.

"Alright, Oshawott, we did it!" I cheered while the Oshawott jumped for joy.

As the Tepig lied flat on the ground, Bianca gently kneed over to it. "Aw, don't feel bad, Tepig, you did your very best. Both you and Oshawott did!" The Tepig smiled as a response.

"Nice job on your first battle, Savannah. I didn't quite expect this to be the outcome," Cheren said.

"Yeah, thanks Cheren." It took me a second to process everything he said. "Wait, you didn't expect that? What's that supposed to mean?!"

Cheren ignored my question and walked over to Bianca's Tepig. "Here, Bianca, let me fix up your Tepig real quick." He pulled a purple spray bottle from his bag and sprayed Tepig with it. Tepig jumped up, rejuvenated.

"Wow, my mom was right. Those Potions really work wonders!" Bianca gasped in amazement.

"Your Oshawott should be healed too, Savannah." Cheren sprayed Oshawott once, but then the Oshawott wailed out of pain and hid behind me.

"Come on, Oshawott, this'll only sting for a second." Cheren tried spraying him again, but Oshawott took off running before he could do so. "Hey, get back here!"

Bianca and I laughed while Oshawott ran around the room and Cheren kept missing him with the spray. After a few moments, Cheren sprayed him to the point where he was fully healed. "Geez, your Oshawott is just as finicky as you are, Savannah."

 _I wish I could disagree with that,_ I thought after I stopped laughing.

"Hey, Cheren, why don't you battle with Savannah now?" Bianca suggested. For some reason I felt a drop in my stomach when I heard her say that.

Rather than reject the idea, Cheren looked interested. "You sure?"

"Yeah, it doesn't seem fair when me and Savannah are the only ones who get to battle. I think all of us should at least have a shot at it! But, um, if you don't want to, I can totally understa-"

"Actually, that sounds reasonable enough," Cheren said, much to Bianca's surprise. He turned over to me. "Is your Oshawott good for another match, Savannah?"

I looked down at Oshawott, who looked straight into my eyes with stark determination. I felt confused knowing how nervous he looked just a few minutes ago, but I returned the expression and looked back at Cheren. "Yeah, we're ready."

"Then it's settled," he began as he pushed his glasses up. "You'll be my opponent.." he then pointed at me dramatically. "..in my first Pokemon battle!"

I shook my fist at him. "Bring it on!"

Just like before, the two Pokemon got into their battling positions. Cheren and Snivy looked at each other trustingly and nodded.

 _Hm, they're a confident bunch, aren't they,_ I thought as I prepared to call out an attack. "Okay, Oshawott, Tackle!"

"Snivy, dodge!" At Cheren's command, Snivy swiftly leaped out of Oshawott's way, leaving him completely dazed.

"Okay, now use Leer!" Snivy then glared at Oshawott with its menacing eyes. Terrified, Oshawott stumbled backwards.

"Come on, Oshawott, stay with me here! Use another Tackle!" Oshawott regained his composure and rushed towards Snivy once again. This time Snivy took the hit, although it wasn't much at all. After the attack, Snivy simply smirked as it waited for Cheren's next command.

"Snivy, Tackle!" In the blink of an eye, Snivy slammed itself into Oshawott. In just one hit, Oshawott was down and out.

I sighed in defeat and kneeled over to Oshawott. "It's okay, Oshawott, you tried at least."

"Good job, Snivy," Cheren said. Snivy stood victoriously and smiled.

Even though I lost, I couldn't help but smile a bit, as I was admittedly impressed with how Snivy took Oshawott down so easily. It was actually kind of exciting being backed into a corner like that. "That was pretty fun, Cheren. I could learn a bit from your style."

"Thanks, Savannah. Now let's fix up your Oshawott," he said as he pulled out the Potion. Oshawott immediately jumped from the ground and hid behind me.

Cheren scratched his head. "Again, Oshawott? Really?"

Snivy tilted its head up, as if it had an idea. It approached Oshawott, pulled out some vines from its back, and entangled Oshawott in them, completely immobilizing him.

Cheren and I widened our eyes a bit. "Well, aren't you a smart one?" Cheren said as he started spraying Oshawott down. Seeing Oshawott squirm around and whimper made me feel a bit sorry for him, but the helpless look in his eyes made me giggle a bit.

Finally, Snivy freed Oshawott after he was fully healed. Oshawott sighed out of relief, feeling good as new.

"I gotta hand it to your Snivy, he's a clever little guy ain't he?" I said. Snivy responded by glaring at me just like it did to Oshawott in our battle. I backed away a bit and laughed nervously. "What? It's a compliment!"

Cheren laughed. "I think she's offended that you called her a boy, Savannah."

"Oh, really? How did you know it was a girl?" I asked.

"I heard it in her battle cry. Female Snivys typically have a higher pitched cry than male Snivys."

Bianca and I looked impressed with his knowledge. "Wooow, you sure know a lot, do you?" Bianca said in awe. I wasn't all that surprised. He's a pretty studious person, and his parents were also Trainers before him. If I had to guess, I'd say he got most of it from them.

"Still, this feeling I have... I feel like I'm finally a Trainer." Cheren said. His voice sounded quiet, but filled with great pride.

"Yeah, I feel it too," I replied. I looked over at my two friends, and the Pokemon that stood proudly by their side. "I think we'll all be great Trainers."

"That's the spirit, Savannah! Let's all do our very best on this adventure!" Bianca beamed excitedly.

"Whoa now, let's not get too ahead of ourselves, Bianca," Cheren chuckled. "We still need to get our Pokedex from Professor Juniper."

"Oh right, I completely forgot about that!" Bianca quickly grabbed her purse and made her way to the staircase. "I need to go home real quick before we do that, but I'll see you guys at the lab!" Bianca then took off with Tepig following closely behind.

Cheren did the same and grabbed his things as well. "You coming, Savannah?"

"I'll catch up with you guys, I gotta get the rest of my stuff together. I won't be long though."

"Alright, don't keep us waiting too long," Cheren said as he and Snivy left.

With everyone gone, I let out a big sigh and flopped on my bed, exhausted after that battle. I gazed at my ceiling and thought about how I first felt when I saw those battles on TV. The way the Trainers commanded their Pokemon, the hopeless look on a Trainer's face when they were cornered, the triumphant comeback that would often come up, all combined with the applause and screams from the audience... It all felt so enthralling to me, and awakened this feeling in me I never knew I had. The feeling that made me want to go on a journey and experience it for myself.

While I was still in my little doldrums, Oshawott tugged at the leg of my pants, as if it wanted for me to get going already. I chuckled at him and got up from my bed. "Don't worry, we'll be on our way soon enough."

* * *

 **Has it really been 2 months already? Geez, sorry about that. I'll admit that most of that had to do with my own laziness, but with school coming to an end at the time, and other difficulties, it was hard to find any time or inspiration to keep writing. But now that I'm on summer vacation, I've got plenty of time. I'll try to get at least a good chunk of the story finished over these next few months.**


End file.
